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Bring back the time bonuses!

May 29, 2010
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Time bonuses certainly would have made the stage today a lot more interesting. Why'd they do away with them? On other stages it would make someone like Leipheimer actually have to try to do something...at least in the last 50 meters.

I also think that if a sprinter, who is just a couple seconds out of yellow after the prologue, wins the next 2 stages in a bunch sprint, while the yellow jersey finishes at the back in the pack, the sprinter should be in yellow.

They don't have to be 20, 12, 6 second bonuses, but even 6, 4, 2 would make people actually work for the top 3 places instead of sitting on whoever doesn't have a teammate up the road and coasting to the finish. Let's see some racing!
 
Aug 10, 2009
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Even when there are time bonuses in races they don't have them on summit finishes... there is a UCI rule that forbids them on summit finishes and TTs.

So u wouldn't have had bonuses today. But you would have had them on a stage like stg. 15.
 
clashb02 said:
Time bonuses certainly would have made the stage today a lot more interesting. Why'd they do away with them? On other stages it would make someone like Leipheimer actually have to try to do something...at least in the last 50 meters.

Ummm... just when has Leipheimer been in any sort of position in the last 50m to even be thinking time bonuses?
 
Oct 18, 2009
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clashb02 said:
Time bonuses certainly would have made the stage today a lot more interesting. Why'd they do away with them? On other stages it would make someone like Leipheimer actually have to try to do something...at least in the last 50 meters.

I also think that if a sprinter, who is just a couple seconds out of yellow after the prologue, wins the next 2 stages in a bunch sprint, while the yellow jersey finishes at the back in the pack, the sprinter should be in yellow.

[................................................................]

I've got to agree %100 with that statement. People who love their tradition might not like it but a facts a fact : "The yellow jersey is the big prize in cycling and the sprinters should be entitled to have a chance to wear it just like the climbers and the TimeTrialers and the Breakaway specialists.
And before you say the Sprinters can just get in a Breakaway if they wan't to take the Yellow Jersey well they can't because they're expected to hold back and contest the sprint in a manly way...When have you ever seen Tom Boonen or Robbie McEwan or Gerald Ciolek in a Breakaway? = NEVER

:D
 
Jul 16, 2010
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online-rider said:
I've got to agree %100 with that statement. People who love their tradition might not like it but a facts a fact : "The yellow jersey is the big prize in cycling and the sprinters should be entitled to have a chance to wear it just like the climbers and the TimeTrialers and the Breakaway specialists.
And before you say the Sprinters can just get in a Breakaway if they wan't to take the Yellow Jersey well they can't because they're expected to hold back and contest the sprint in a manly way...When have you ever seen Tom Boonen or Robbie McEwan or Gerald Ciolek in a Breakaway? = NEVER

:D

Well, I've seen Tom Boonen in a lot of breakaways on the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, world championship, etc

He's not Cavendish you know =/

Boonen has already had to pleasure to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour by the way, when bonifications still existed.
 
El Pistolero said:
Well, I've seen Tom Boonen in a lot of breakaways on the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, world championship, etc

He's not Cavendish you know =/

Boonen has already had to pleasure to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour by the way, when bonifications still existed.

I'd try almost anything that breaks up these formulas that have come to dominate big business, high-stakes cycling. Sprint trains and too-close marking. That's the TdF. Milan-San Remo, Paris-Tours and Gent-Wevelgem usually end in sprints, but there's never a sprint train there.
 
Jul 23, 2009
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A bit of an incentive to fight at the end would be good I think. Maybe it is one of the things that is making the Giro good at the moment. But personally I find 20s for a stage too much, 8,5,3,1 or 10,6,4,2 at the most maybe.
 
labratty said:
A bit of an incentive to fight at the end would be good I think. Maybe it is one of the things that is making the Giro good at the moment. But personally I find 20s for a stage too much, 8,5,3,1 or 10,6,4,2 at the most maybe.
About right for me.
 
Jul 27, 2009
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labratty said:
A bit of an incentive to fight at the end would be good I think. Maybe it is one of the things that is making the Giro good at the moment. But personally I find 20s for a stage too much, 8,5,3,1 or 10,6,4,2 at the most maybe.

yep 10s for the win is good, makes for a bit more excitement at the finish without giving a real advantage to the winner.
 
Oct 18, 2009
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El Pistolero said:
Well, I've seen Tom Boonen in a lot of breakaways on the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, world championship, etc

He's not Cavendish you know =/

Boonen has already had to pleasure to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour by the way, when bonifications still existed.

You seem to have completely missed my point El Pistolero. We were discussing Time Bonifications at the Tour de France so any refernece to the Td Flanders, Paris-Roubaix of WC would be totallly irrelevant. You know as well as I do that it's a totally differant style of racing.
What ClashBo2 is saying is that, a sprinter who is good enough to win 2 stages in the first four days or or four 2nd places in the first week (or whatever) probably merits the yellow jersey as being the best rider at that stage of the race. And thats incontestable.....If M. Cavendish wins four stages while while F. Cancellara has only won one, after 5 days of racing then don't you think Cavendish should have the jersey?

Anyone who remembers it will agree, the TdF was alot more exciting 5 or 6 years ago when the sprinters could duel for Yellow in the first week.

Then in the second week you could scrap the bonifications, why not?
 
Mar 12, 2010
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I think it´s not bad idea at all given some ridiculous moments like Alberto-Andy at Ax 3 Domaines, we would definately see more drama and effort from favourites...
but I would prefer more modest bonifications like 10-6-3 to keep the regularity and balance of the race, 20 seconds is far too much especially when TdF is so equal like this year
 
Nov 17, 2009
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Right now there isn't enough incentive for a GC person to fight for a stage.

They only care about getting a gap to other GC people. People coasting to the line, gifting stages simply sucks. They aren't racing... I WANT TO SEE RACING.

Would Alberto have given Andy the stage if he'd lose 5 seconds by doing so? I don't think so. Would there have been more action by the favorites to reel in the break on stage 15 if bonus seconds were available? Perhaps. Would AC and AS be doing track stands on 14 or fighting for the win if they could gain time in the sprint to the line?


While GC riders might like a stage win... they obviously don't care very much. That leads to boring finishes. Being the first to cross the line should count for something in the GC race.
 
Mar 10, 2009
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kurtinsc said:
Right now there isn't enough incentive for a GC person to fight for a stage.

They only care about getting a gap to other GC people. People coasting to the line, gifting stages simply sucks. They aren't racing... I WANT TO SEE RACING.

Would Alberto have given Andy the stage if he'd lose 5 seconds by doing so? I don't think so. Would there have been more action by the favorites to reel in the break on stage 15 if bonus seconds were available? Perhaps. Would AC and AS be doing track stands on 14 or fighting for the win if they could gain time in the sprint to the line?


While GC riders might like a stage win... they obviously don't care very much. That leads to boring finishes. Being the first to cross the line should count for something in the GC race.

true but if we had time bonues we might have seen AC attack more in earlier stages, pull out a minute and then all he would need is to finish with AS on the other stages
 

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